Doc Rivers Can Empathize With Byron Scott

Rivers knows what it’s like to coach a team that has hit rock-bottom, and the pain that comes wiith it. The Boston Herald reports: “[Byron] Scott’s Cleveland Cavaliers, who will limp into the Garden tonight, have lost 17 straight games and 27-of-28 after last night’s 103-101 setback in New Jersey. With LeBron James’ talents now on South Beach and a mismatched roster hindered by injuries, the Cavs have the NBA’s worst record (8-36). It’s reminiscent of the Celtics’ disastrous 2006-07 season, when their inexperienced crew lost 18 games in a row. Rivers was on the sideline for the Celtics during that woeful season, so he knows Scott is convincing himself every night his team can win. He knows Scott is spending extra time in the film room, searching for answers amid a horror show of mistakes. And Rivers knows, as much as anything, that Scott’s phone is ringing off the hook. ‘Everybody is calling you — the coaching network is at work,’ Rivers recalled. ‘People (ask), ‘How are you?’ I’m like, ‘I’m good if you stop (expletive) calling me.’ That’s how you felt — leave me the (expletive) alone, I want to do my job.'”